AIBU to wonder why more people don’t use reusable nappies?

[KatyClaire]

I have a fairly new baby and I’m a little surprised at how few people I’ve encountered are using reusable nappies. I haven’t met anyone using them in my antenatal group / baby classes / local parents group etc. There has been such an explosion in the use of reusable products (sanitary products, straws, cups, make up wipes etc) that I had assumed it would have crossed into nappies as well.

I don’t know whether it’s a perception issue (people thinking they’re messy and hard to clean), the upfront cost, confusing information etc?

Because they get covered in piss and shit and it's much easier to just throw them away and get a fresh one out.

Think about the reason single-use products became popular in the first place: they're easy, they're cheap, they're just as good or better than the reusable ones for less work.

Lots of people I know are, including myself. Have you looked for a local cloth group? It's handy for tips but also for people selling nappies on that they don't like or are finished with.

Yes YABU, there is so much information out there and pressure on new mothers. There is enough to be trying to cope with with out being judged on what nappies I use.

I live in an area where there's quite a big use of reusable nappies, and we used them for our youngest two..
Maybe I'm more aware of it because I'm part of a nappy group & in other groups where reusable nappies are heavily promoted..

However I think there is a few issues that people have - the upfront cost (i think we spent about £150-200 but it saved us a hell of a lot over time as they lasted till potty training). Some people also can't get past the fact of putting nappies in the washing machine.

Also I know when we started using reusable my mum just said "why on earth would you start using reusable when there are disposable nappies now??" - but I think generally they're not as much as a faff as they would have been back in the 80s.

I loved our reusable nappies and recommend them to everyone, as does my DH. Though I remember when I started researching them and my mind was just completely overloaded in the amount of information, about how to fold nappies, and stuff them, and how to wash them..

@MissMooMoo that’s a good idea, I’ll do some research. I’m glad they’re popular in some places!

@TakeTheCuntOutOfScunthorpe I do absolutely get that. I just think that in lots of other areas people are accepting a little less convenience for the sake of being environmentally friendly, so I was surprised I hadn’t seen that in respect of nappies.

I used reusables for a while with my eldest, then my youngest came along 14 months later. We don't have a dryer (which would negate the environmental benefits anyway) so the laundry with two babies and their nappies was unsustainable. Also, even though the wet bags are really good, you're still carrying around a bag of human poop when out and about, times that by multiple children and I was starting to smell like a portaloo! They are bulky (to carry and wear) and leak slightly more, they need changing more often. I never found a cloth nappy that worked overnight (a common problem) so we were using disposables for night as well. Didn't have time for all that s* (pun intended 😉). If it works for you great, but not for everyone :)

Washing and drying facilities. I live in a flat with no outdoor drying place or space for a tumble dryer. To dry clothes it's a clothes horse in front of a window or draped over a radiator. In spring/autumn when it's not really cold enough to have the heating on but not exactly warm and sunny by the window things like towels or thick clothing can take 3 days to dry.

Because when you have a newborn baby you have precious little headspace and time as it is?!

@covetingthepreciousthings I totally agree, I love mine. We originally made the decision for environmental reasons but I actually just think they’re better generally - more comfortable, much less expensive (albeit the cost is an upfront one - I definitely see how that could be off putting), cuter!

All the reasons above plus I did try various types of reusables and always found Ds was much more sore and red in any of them than the disposable ones.

Oh that’s a shame - I totally understand why you wouldn’t persevere if they weren’t working for your baby. I do think part of the problem is that they’re so expensive and there are so many to choose from, it really limits the option to shop around for a variety that works. I think I got lucky that the brand we chose worked from the start for us, it would have been a nightmare if we hadn’t got on with them.

They kept leaking. And I’m sure I could have found a brand that worked but I couldn’t afford to keep trying different ones until I found ones that didn’t leak.

Incidentally if anyone is considering them I really recommend The Nappy Lady for advice - she had a detailed questionnaire to help you find a suitable brand and is around to answer queries as well.

I'll be honest, I actually had no real idea about them when my 4yo was born. No one I know used them, I didn't see them advertised, I didn't even know they were a thing. Then at baby clubs I met a few women who did use them but by that point I was dealing with a non-sleeping velcro baby and honestly the thought of setting it all up was too exhausting. I did consider it with my second but, again, by that point I had a toddler too and it did seem a lot of work! I'll admit I prioritised convenience over the environment. Maybe they should advertise/push these at new dads? I had enough to deal with recovering from birth/ c sections and establishing breastfeeding. If dh had taken the initiative to set us up with re usable nappies and taken on the extra laundry I'd have been fine with it. I do think more new baby stuff should be directed at men rather than overwhelming women!

Inconvenience, upfront cost, cost/effort/impracticality of extra washing (lived in a small flat with no dryer), didn't want to carry wet bags around all day.

I knew about them and I had a couple of friends that used them but I firmly ruled out using them myself.

I've bought muslins and wraps for our newborn due in May and planning to move to a birth to potty nappy at 4/6 months depending on my baby's growth - but it took a LOT of reading to be able to figure it out. There's so many caveats on things, eg "I like this brand but check which brand suits baby!", "If I fold it this way I get leaks but others don't", "this type is more absorbent but takes longer to dry so you need more" kind of thing. I imagine if I was trying to figure it out after baby had arrived, when I will be sleep deprived and have a million other priorities, I'd have given up.

It's quite an expensive set up when you don't know if that brand will suit your baby, if you pick right you save hundreds over the lifetime of baby 1 and even more over baby 2 but it's a lot of outlay and a but of a gamble. Plus some nurseries don't use cloth nappies, or it feels like another ask if you're relying on family childcare. I can see the ease of disposables and I'm not ruling out using any depending on what's going on, but it's not been easy and I haven't even had the baby yet!

I did think about using them but it was the initial cost that put us pfd. Also DH was so sure about the idea of them. We use cloth wipes though.

YANU to to wonder what the hell you like. We're not quite yet at thought crime.
Are you PR for "The Nappy Lady?"

Definitely agree they should be marketed at dads! My husband has really taken the lead on them. He does all the laundry in our household anyway, but he’s also been brilliant about researching what kind and working out new folds etc for the ones we use. If he hadn’t been supportive it would have been a lot harder. It’s definitely an area dads could get their teeth into.

I went to a cloth nappy workshop when I was pregnant to get a feel for them and decided that disposables worked best for our family. We just didn’t have enough space to be washing and drying all the families clothes plus loads of nappies. When DD was born we were so sleep deprived for the first six months it was a wonder we had any clean clothes or didn’t starve to death because we were barely functioning- I would not have had the additional head space to think about washing and drying nappies on a regular basis!

Where we live (not UK) all our waste is incinerated and then converted to electricity- nothing goes to landfill so in that respect disposables aren’t quite as bad for my area.

I couldn't find an option that my child didn't piss through within the hour.
We still have them though, and we'll be using them when potty training.

I use cloth wipes but not nappies. It’s a happy compromise for me as baby goes to grandparents and nursery for care and would be too much faff making sure everyone had the right bits at the right time, and I especially want to make life easy for grandparents.

I absolutely love cloth wipes though (Grovia are the best I’ve found and significantly better than some of the others I’ve tried) and recommend them wholeheartedly.

I work in a nursery. We have one child that wears them, and we all think they are awful. They can’t walk properly because of the bulk, we can’t tell when they are wet, they get rashes a lot.

Pretty rich to virtue signal about cloth nappies, when having a baby in the first place is pretty ecologically damaging

Honestly?

I can't be arsed.